Packable Knits

As I mentioned earlier, I'm getting ready to spend my summer abroad. Obviously my #3 concern (behind finding flights and accommodations) is what knitting to bring. I want to keep it light, because I only have limited space in my luggage, and because it's going to be summer in a hot place. As a lifetime almost arctic-circle dweller, I'm concerned that I might die in the heat, so light things are a must. Last time I was away from my stash this long was on a backpacking trip, so all I could pack were socks. (Somehow I managed to make it 6 months of cross-continental travel without breaking a DPN! About 10 seconds after realizing this and being all self-congratulatory about it I totally snapped one in half, though. True story) Anyways, this time I have an apartment to call home base so I can be a bit more flexible with my choices. Here's what has been on my brain!

Candidate #1: Beautiful Spring Scarf from the Purl Bee

Photo from the Purl Bee

I fell instantly in love with this scarf. Seriously. I love the simplicity and the vibrance of the tassels at the bottom. It's such a fantastic contrast! I'm fairly certain I could never finish this scarf if I had steady access to both my stash and an LYS, as I have the attention span of a gnat. I figure this could be a solid desert island project! And since I can't find any knotting cord close by, nor can I afford the shipping from Purl Soho to recreate the tassles in this masterpiece, I'll have to figure that out later. I have some lovely cotton/linen in my stash that would make a great substitute for the scarf portion, though! (I admit, I fondled the yarn called for in the pattern for a shameful amount of time when I visited Purl last month. It's amazing.)

Candidate #2: Muji Painting by Lies Vandesande

Image from Lies Vandesande

Do you detect a theme? Because it's miles of stockinette stitch that go around my neck. I loved this cowl when I found it, and I was even more convinced when Ariane made one in the most beautiful shade of mauve. I would be inclined to pick up a couple skeins of Malabrigo Lace for this, given how fantastically soft and light that stuff is. Or maybe some Tanis lace. Who knows.

Candidate #3: Lakeshore Shawl by Glenna C.

Image from Glenna C.

This one is, by far, the most brain intensive of my candidates. I've had this queued on Ravelry for well over a year. I love the pattern, the scale, and the fact that it would fill a niche in my wardrobe that remains empty. I picked up some yarn at Romni on my first visit which is a nice, single ply in between fingering and lace weights with this shawl in mind.

Candidate #4: Bridgewater Shawl by Jared Flood

Image from Brooklyn Tweed

Ok, so this one only recently hit my radar in an urgent way. I'm possibly only including it in my brainchild list because a) Chelsea just finished one and I have massive shawl envy and b) I would do it in Malabrigo lace and, well, that just sounds like a great idea. One annoyance with this one is that the middle section is huge, but it is only garter stitch which would be great brainless knitting. I would probably skip the edging for the time being because I don't really feel like carting around the longest circular needle known to man, which is likely what's required.

What are your thoughts? What have you packed for trips away from your stash?
-H

What's up, May?

Well, spring is happening in Ontario and it's awesome. I'm feeling refreshed after a couple weeks of low-key working time with plenty of knitting, coffee and open-window time. I even got to crack out my beloved sandals today!

This is going to be a huge month for me. The biggest thing is that I'll be heading to Italy for a three month research trip! This will be my first time really travelling by myself, which is terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. I have a ton of work to do before I go, including a bunch of lab work (fish maceration for the win!), bidding adieu to my current sardine can of a house and moving into a new apartment (THANK GOD) and deciding what to pack in a tiny suitcase. The most important packing decision is, of course, what I'm bringing to knit! I have a couple candidates that I'm working through, I'll post more about those soon! I'm also turning 24 which is terrifying. I remember when I thought I'd have my life together by now. Ha!

For now, I have a (typical) date with an iced americano, Parks and Rec (how have I not watched this before?!), and the never ending edging of my Rock Island shawl. Seriously, this thing is going on forever.

Happy Wednesday, and here's to an awesome May!
-H

Currently

I've been appreciating reading short little updates around the blog world, so here's what I'm currently up to:

Watching: I'm getting ready for a Harry Potter marathon to celebrate the completion of my first year of grad school! I've been eating up House of Cards on Netflix on the side as well. (Kevin Spacey is the man. Also, Princess Buttercup is his wife, so there's that.)

Eating: Since my housemates are slowly leaving the house (thank goodness!) there has been extra space in the kitchen for real-food cooking. I just made a big batch of this pasta salad from Pioneer Woman. I added some artichoke hearts and omitted the parmesan. Delicious! I've also been drinking my precious coffee from Stumptown that I picked up in NYC. Can't wait to make some iced coffee out of it!

Reading: I'm trying to line up some summer reads to take to Italy with me. Now that I'm relieved of course readings, I'd love to get some fiction back into my system. I think the first on my docket will be The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson. I'd also like to check out Big Bang by Simon Singh. I saw his lecture at NECSS by the same name, and I'd love to see what the book is like. I've read Neil deGrasse Tyson's take on a similar topic, but you can never learn enough, right? Does anyone have recommendations for summer reads?

Knitting: I currently have a UFO infestation in my room. I'm working on Cardamom, a Stockholm cowl and the Rock Island Shawl as a part of a knitalong with my LYS. My lace skills have turned up the suck and it's taken me a good 5 knitting hours to get a single lace repeat done. Of the ~15 stitch border. Hopefully I can dedicate some time and brains to it in the next few days!

Hoping: That the world calms the crap down. I've had it with disasters, natural or otherwise.

I hope that you all had a lovely weekend! I'm going to continue the celebration of being done my first year by hanging out in my sweatpants and knitting all day Monday!

-H

More adventures!

This last weekend I had the pleasure of heading down to New York City to attend NECSS. I had such a great experience attending my first skeptical event! It was great to be around like-minded people that aren't directly associated with archaeology. (I adore my anthropology/archaeology community, but it's fun to see what people who come from different backgrounds have to say too). I also got to see my favourite podcast, The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, be recorded live twice, which was a whole other amazing thing on it's own. So many good things.

Apart from the sciencey side of things, it was also amazing to see NYC for the first time. It's overwhelming, loud and ridiculously fast-paced. But for all the honking and sirens, there is a ton of amazing stuff going on. I had a great time visiting Warby Parker, Purl Soho, the Lion Brand Studio, Stumptown Coffee Roasters and a ton of other places. My feet have barely recovered from the torture I put them through.

I had my final presentation for my thesis project, and only about 20 pages of writing stand between me and my summer! I'm furiously planning for my trip overseas and trying to keep focused. Clearly I'm doing a good job..

What are your favourite travel knits? Of course this is the issue at the front of my brain. To pack lace? Or not to pack lace. That is the question.

Best. Weekend. Ever.

I don't have much to talk about on the knitting front. I've been working on a sock (hereafter to be referred to as the Sock of Hate) out of Berroro Comfort Sock during what little knitting time I've had available. I hate that thing. I think I'm one of those people who just shouldn't knit socks, but I'm determined to finish, since I only have the heel and foot chunk of the second one to go. From here on out, I pledge to knit only worsted weight socks. Ever.

In happy news, I got to spend an amazing almost 5 days with James in Toronto. I think we saw all the big things the city had to offer and were even lucky enough to catch a 16 piece band playing Radiohead songs. (I should add that one of the trombonists was a dead ringer for Matt Smith, so I'm pretending I saw the doctor take a sweet 'bone solo) Of course, I managed to make a trip to Romni Wools and, as you can see above, James snapped this photo of me in my natural habitat. Handknit toque with pompom? Check. Cat purse? Check. ALL THE YARN? Double check. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of visiting this shop.. note that I'm about 5'8"tall. That's a lot of yarn in there. And this was only 1/4 rows. On the first floor. Amazing.

I'm off to hit the hay and work on some reading for school. I can write 2 papers this weekend, and still have time to cast on Christianna's lovely new cowl, Jessie, right?

-H